Pipe Dream
by nrynmrth
Summary: The first night without Ian is always the hardest. Oneshot. Winner of SpyFest 2016, Week Three.


A/N: Written for two purposes. 1) Because Little13Silence asked about another sleepy!Alex oneshot, and 2) for SpyFest 2016 Week Three - 'A dream is a wish your heart makes.' Therefore, this fic is dedicated to you, Little13Silence, and to Cinderella, which pretty much took over most of my childhood. Written while I was also half-asleep and not proofread, but I like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or Cinderella. I would love to, but that's just a _pipe dream_ (lol. couldn't resist XD)

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Jack hears soft footsteps pad into her room and stop by the door.

"Jack?"

The whisper is soft and childlike, and Jack sits up, smiling gently at her midnight visitor.

"C'mere, Alex." She pats the spot next to her, inviting her eight-year-old charge to climb in beside her.

Alex does so silently, moving close to her and resting his fluffy blond head on her shoulder. "I miss Ian, Jack."

"Oh, Alex." She strokes his hair back, offering comfort (even though she feels the same way). "You know the first night is always the hardest."

She feels Alex nod against her and sighs, turning so that they're face to face. "Even so, you must be pretty used to it by now. Want to tell me what's up tonight?" She winces even as the words leave her mouth, knowing how insensitive she sounds and hating herself for her carelessness (if she's not used to it yet, how could he be?).

"Sorry—" she begins to apologize, but Alex cuts her off.

"I know what you meant. It's okay, Jack, don't worry about it." He hesitates, biting his lip.

"Tell me, Alex," she commands mildly, and he does.

"It's nothing, really…just a dream."

Jack understands now. "Was it about Ian?" A nod. She continues. "Was he here with us?" Another nod.

She sighs and pulls him to her chest, hugging him and extending comfort in the only way she knows how (neither she nor Ian is very good at that. It's probably why they get along so well…and why they fight so much).

"I just miss him." Alex's voice, slightly muffled, cracks on the last word and Jack can feel her heart squeeze in tandem. "I know I should be used to it by now—"

"Never say that." Her voice is unintentionally sharp and she feels Alex draw back. Softening, she goes on. "Forget about what I said earlier. It's not easy to have him gone all the time, and the day it becomes so is the day that we've lost any last ounce of family in us. It is _normal_ , Alex — _you're_ normal. There's nothing wrong with missing him."

"But—"

"Do I generally say things without meaning them?" she demands acidly, a touch of lightness entering her tone.

"No, Jack." Alex's voice is also lighter, and Jack inwardly congratulates herself on cheering him up.

"Then stop. I meant what I said — he's your family. Mom, dad, the whole shebang. I'd be worried if you didn't miss him."

"…You're my family too, Jack." Alex's words, while quiet and tinged with the sheepishness of an eight-year-old boy expressing emotion, are sincere, and Jack can't find the words to express how she feels, so she stays silent.

After a few moments of silence, Jack turns to Alex. "Don't think you're off the hook, mister. We still have to talk about that dream of yours."

" _Jack_." Her name is drawn out, almost bordering on a whine (not actually a whine, because Ian Rider has no patience for whining and crying and feelings, and his nephew is the same).

" _What_?" she mimics, raising her eyebrows. After a staring contest (which Alex wins, of course), Jack heaves an over-exaggerated sigh. "Okay, fine. Just one thing," she says, eyes turning serious as she meets Alex's liquid brown eyes, "remember. A dream is a wish your heart makes—" here she winks at him "—and this wish will come true. He'll come back, Alex," she reassures him (and herself), giving him one last hug. "Now go to sleep."

"Yes, Jack," Alex replies somewhat sleepily. "Just one last thing," he mocks her.

"What, my oh-so-infuriating ward?" She asks snippily.

"…Did you just quote Disney at me?"

She blinks owlishly, then smiles fully, chuckling a little. "Yeah, I guess I did. _Sleep_ ," she insists, poking his side.

"Night, Jack." Alex is already falling asleep, breaths deep and even.

"Night, Alex," Jack whispers back. "Sweet dreams."

Pressing a kiss to his hair, Jack lies back on her pillow and stares at the ceiling, her thoughts turning to the other Rider man.

"And you, Ian Rider," she says to the stars above her, "we'll be having a _long_ chat about your parenting skills when you get back."

* * *

Review? Pleeeeaaaaase?

-nrynmrth


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